TOC Archives – Page 12 of 18

Story of the Sioux Indians

Of all the Indians on the long journey into the wilderness that the United States had just acquired through the Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark found the Sioux the most quarrelsome, the most menacing of future trouble. In this first encounter at the mouth of the stream they called Teton River, the chiefs accepted the gifts and hospitality of the white men, then strove to detain them and demanded further tribute. Intimidation had been their rule with the traders who had hitherto given them their only contact with the white race; and they did not realize that behind this new group lay the power of a young and growing nation that was spreading over the land that had once been the red man’s alone. Arrows were fixed in their bow’s for flight, and swords were drawn; but the incident passed over without an actual conflict, and the boat that was making its way up the almost unknown reaches of the Missouri went on a space to the island thus named in commemoration of the incident…

Improvements to Annexed Cherokee Lands

List of the improvements, with the proprietors’ names, on lands ceded by the Cherokees to the United States, by the treaty of the 6th of May, 1828, with the appraised value, &c. annexed.

Old Settlers Roll

1830 Map of Cherokee Territory in Georgia

A listing of Cherokee still living in 1851 who were all ready residing in Oklahoma when the main body of the Cherokee arrived in the winter of 1839, as a result of the Treaty of New Echota (1835). Approximately one third of the Cherokee people were Old Settlers and two thirds new arrivals. The 1851 payroll lists Old Settlers (Cherokees who moved to Indian Territory prior to December 1835) entitled to participate in a per capita payment. There were 3,273 persons enumerated on this roll which is arranged by Cherokee district and grouped by family. Some persons who did not reside in the Cherokee Nation are listed as “Non-residents.” Three thousand, two hundred and seventy three Cherokees were enrolled and each received two hundred, seventy dollars and ninety five cents. The “Old Settlers” filed a protest against the sum. The Supreme Court decided that the original “Old Settlers” or their heirs would receive an additional one hundred, fifty nine dollars and ten cents per share in the 1896 “Old Settler” payment.

Native American Rolls

During the period of Indian Removal beginning in 1831 extensive records were generated through the turn of the century when Southeastern Indians were uprooted from their homelands in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. They were taken west of the Mississippi River in what is now Oklahoma. These records relate to treaties, trade, land claims, removal to Oklahoma, allotments, military affairs, military service and pensions, trust funds, and other activities. While the vast majority reference Southeastern Tribes, there are some which pertain to Western tribes as well.

A Sketch of the Potawatomi

More than thirty-seven years ago, when I first became a citizen of Chicago, I found this whole country occupied as the hunting grounds of the Pottawatomie Indians. I soon formed the acquaintance of many of their chiefs, and this acquaintance ripened into a cordial friendship. I found them really intelligent and possessed of much information resulting from their careful observation of natural objects. I traveled with them over the prairies, I hunted and I fished with them, I camped with them in the groves, I drank with them at the native springs, of which they were never at a loss … Read more

Contribution to Passamaquoddy Folklore

Passamaquoddy Folklore – Read about a variety of folklore and dances passed down by the Passamaquoddy Tribe – includes a few songs with notes.

Mississippi Choctaw Investment Company

The Mississippi Choctaw were imported into Mississippi in 1902 and 1903 by land companies, among which was the Choctaw Investment Company, now defunct, and J. E. Arnold. They were herded in barracks around Ardmore and other places during 1902, 1903, and 1904: the small pox broke out among them and they died like sheep. Before they left Mississippi, contracts were made with them in which they agreed to prove up on their lands and sell them to the promoters. The stockholders of the Choctaw Investment Company and other non-residents furnished the money and have stood the loss, but J. E. … Read more

The Mound Builders

The Historical and Scientific Society of Manitoba published several papers by Dr. Bryce in description of visits among the remains of the Mound Builders of the Canadian West. This particular one contains information on the excavation of Great Mound, Rainy River, Aug. 22, 1884. Ours are the only mounds making up a distinct mound-region on Canadian soil. This comes to us as a part of the large inheritance which we who have migrated to Manitoba receive. No longer cribbed, cabined, and confined, we have in this our “greater Canada” a far wider range of study than in the fringe along … Read more

Laws Affecting the Five Civilized Tribes Enrollment

This collection provides information on many of the laws used by the The Commissioner of Indian Affairs and the Department of the Interior affecting the Five Civilized Tribes enrollment. You will find most of this information useful in your research. There are many names in part 3 and 4 with actual cases listed there.

Ledger of Mrs. Ulessus Kennedy

The records contained here occurred within or around the Allegany Reservation located in Cattaraugus County, New York., and were recorded in an old ledger owned by Mrs. Ulessus Kennedy. The records in this manuscript cover the years of 1880-1947.

Indian Wars, Conflicts and Disturbances 1614-1893

For almost 200 years the population of North America or the colonial or federal government have been at war with the Indian Nations of this country. Early English settlers enjoyed peaceful relations with nearby tribes, but the colonists were taking sides in military rivalries between Indian Nations in order to open further land for settlement. All the wars and conflicts generally resulted in the opening of Indian lands to further colonization, the conquest of the American Indians and their forced relocation to Indian reservations.

Indian Names of the Months

On one of the first leaves of an account-book of William Pynchon of Springfield, is the following account of the Indian months or Moons, in the handwriting of his son, John Pynchon, written about 1650. Papsapquoho and Lowatanassick, they say, are both one. And if they be reckoned both for one, they reckon but twelve months to the year as we do. And they make the year to begin in Squanni kesos, as far as I yet can understand them, and so call the first month: Squanni kesos, part of April and part of May, when they set Indian corn. … Read more

Indian Portraits

An Artists rendition of Indian Chiefs and Leaders printed on trading card in the early 1900’s.

The Indian Tribes of North America

Linguisitic Families of American Indians - Powell

Swanton’s The Indian Tribes of North America is a classic example of early 20th Century Native American ethnological research. Published in 1953 in Bulletin 145 of the Bureau of American Ethnology, this manuscript covers all known Indian tribes, at the time, broken down by location (state). AccessGenealogy’s online presentation provides state pages by which the user is then either provided a brief history of the tribe or is referred to a more in-depth ethnological representation of the tribe and its place in history. This ethnology usually contains the various names by which the tribe was known, general locations of the tribe, village names, brief history, population statistics for the tribe, and then connections in which the tribe is noted.

The Home of Little Turtle

The Home of Little Turtle looks into the history of the Miami Indians surrounding the Eel River, and provides a biography of the life of Chief Little Turtle.

History of the Indian Tribes of North America

Biographical Sketches and Anecdotes of the Principal Chiefs, Embellished with one Hundred Portraits, from the Indian Gallery in the Department of War, at Washington. Thomas L. McKenney, of the Indian Department, Washington, and James Hall, Esq., of Cincinnati, produced one of the most artistic renditions of Native Americans to be printed. The usage of 100 portraits from the Indian gallery in the War Department provided a visual reference into the style of dress and personal appearance of many leaders of tribes. The biographical sketches and anecdotes should give you an overview into the life of each Indian and their relevance to their tribal affiliation and American culture.

A Letter About the Green Corn Dance

This letter was written by the late John Howard Payne to a relative in New York, in 1835. The Green-Corn Dance which it describes was, it is believed, the last ever celebrated by the Creeks east of the Arkansas. Soon after, they were removed to the West, where they now are.

Search the Dawes Rolls 1898-1914

The Dawes Roll (Final Rolls) is a list of those members of the Five Civilized Tribes who removed to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) during the 1800’s and were living there during the above dates. If your ancestor was not living in Indian Territory during 1898-1914 they will not be listed on the Dawes Roll! Only those Indians who RECEIVED LAND under the provisions of the Dawes Act are listed. It also lists those Freedmen who received land allotments as provided for in the Dawes Act. These pages can be searched to discover the enrollee’s name, age, sex, blood degree, type, census card number and roll number. Check the headings in each column. Type denotes whether the record is from a Dawes card.

Dawes Final Rolls Index

This is the index to the Dawes Final Rolls, listing individuals eligible for enrollment in the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory. Each entry includes the enrollee’s name, final roll number, blood quantum, and index page.

Federal Acknowledgment Regulations

What is the purpose of Federal acknowledgment regulations? The purpose of the Federal acknowledgment regulations is to acknowledge that a government-to-government relationship exists between the United States and tribes which have existed since first contact with non-Indians. Through the process, the Government determines whether it should extend such a relationship to a particular petitioner. The acknowledgment regulations do not apply to Indian tribes that are now acknowledged. They apply only to those tribes which have not yet established such a government-to-government relationship. Is my tribe recognized? A list of Federally recognized tribes is published periodically in the FEDERAL REGISTER. Currently, … Read more